Heavy fuel oil, for example, which has an initial viscous pasty appearance, is currently used in diesel engines. It comprises a liquid part and a solid part. Before it is used in diesel engines, it is necessary to separate the solid part from the liquid part by means of a prior heat treatment using a heat treatment device in decanting systems and then by centrifugation at 80/100° C. It is only the liquid part which is used as fuel in internal combustion diesel engines. The solid part, which is rich in hydrocarbon-based compounds, is not exploited. However, the need for prior thermomechanical treatments of heavy fuel oil for the purpose of using only the liquid part penalizes the overall yield. Consequently, heavy fuel oil is only rarely used despite its availability.
With regard to heavy fuel oils of at least category 2, tar sands or earths polluted by hydrocarbons, no advantageous use is known in terms of yield with a view to exploiting the energy potential of these materials rich in hydrocarbon-based compounds. These materials currently constitute polluting waste that it is necessary to treat for the purpose of eliminating them, with little or no energy recovery.
The present invention proposes to remedy the abovementioned drawbacks.